HOW TO do the perfect warm smokey eye

As a make-up artist, I can assure you that the most wanted look is a warm smokey eye! There are lots of variations of this look, you can do it as dramatic as your eyes want, or as subtle and natural as your little shy face wants. But to be fair, when I hear someone saying “I want a warm smokey eye” all I could think about is a black smokey eye with warm shades in the crease. For me this look is a classic and I reckon it suits all eye shapes and colours! I tried to split it up in 5 easy steps, so anyone could give it a go! And there’s a short video at the end of the post as well!

Step 1 – Prime and choose your crease colour

No matter the eye make-up I do, I always prime my eyelids. I would recommend to everyone to do so. It makes a huge difference in your eyeshadow appearance, longevity, and blending. The way I like to do it is to use an anti-aging eyeshadow primer from Urban Decay and then set it with an eyeshadow close to my skin tone, such as Illamasqua Stealth Eyeshadow.

Now that you’re all primed and ready to go, you need to choose your crease colour. That means you’re going to decide what sort of coloured smokey eye suits your makeup needs that day. Probably the most common one is the warm smokey eye. Since is a favourite of mine as well, I went with orange in the crease, which is from the Modern Renaissance Palette. You can go with any colour that is darker than your skin tone, but make sure you have more deeper shades of that same tone as well.

Be brave and get that colour blended in the crease with a big fluffy brush. Make sure you don’t apply too much product at once, it’s easier to build it up, rather than trying to tone it down.

Step 2 – Add more depth with darker shades

This is the step where you already feel confident in blending that orange shade in the crease and you can’t stop doing it, because you feel so proud of yourself. In order not to make it in vain, it’s better if you grab a slightly smaller brush with a darker orange shade and apply it on the one already blended in the crease. Pay attention not to cover it! Show your skills and just apply it slightly lower, so you’re already working on that ombre effect. Repeat the same process with an even smaller brush and even a darker shade, it can be a warm brown or a burgundy shade, anything that will add even more depth to your crease and outer corner. The lower you apply the colour, the closer you get to the outer corner. So don’t be shy to get that dark shade in the outer V as well.

Step 3 – Create a black base and blend

Ok, everything is going alright, so it’s time to mess it up a bit! Here comes the darkness! Grab a jet black pencil or a gel eyeliner that you like and draw like a kid on your mobile lid! Don’t do like me and use the oldest pencil ever, ‘cause it’s going to be painful to apply it and to blend it as well! I used NYX Gel Eye Pencil, but it was so old and dry that I felt like I was putting make-up with a rock on my eye. Otherwise, it’s a pretty decent pencil. Make sure you blend that black creamy base as fast as you can, ‘cause usually it sets and you can’t move it anymore! You don’t want to skip this step as it’s the one that gives your black eyeshadow something to grab on to, stay put all day, and look the blackest black.

Before you apply the last eyeshadow on your mobile lid, don’t forget to get a very dark brown colour and blend it between that black base and the crease, so you get rid of any unwanted lines. After that, go ahead and grab your charcoal or any black eyeshadow, I used Makeup Geek Corrupt, and use a flat eyeshadow brush to dab it on your lid as close as possible to your lash line.

Step 4 – Repeat the whole process on the bottom lid

I know, it sounds exhausting! But I promise the bottom lid is much quicker, and you’re already proficient by this time in blending the eyeshadows. Nothing complicated here, just have a bit more patience. And use smaller brushes, like pencil or small crease brushes.

Step 5 – Finishing touches

This is my favourite step! I love how the small touches finish and make the look so complete. What I like to do here is to highlight my inner corner, tight line, add my signature wing (go here to see how to do the perfect winged liner), and of course mascara. For this step, I used the Lash Alert Mascara from Eyeko and the Illamasqua Gel Liner in Infinity.